Paper based or PDA ?

Paper based or PDA ?

02-16-2004, 02:39 AM

I have switched some times between paper based system Time/System (Design), Filofax Professional System and Palm, Ipaq. Because this item about from wich system you get the best result pops up from time to time I think it would be intresting to hear more experince from what is best. Now many will say the system is not so important, it is the metod GTD or anything else wich matter.

But please leave that for a moment and concentrate on from wich system do You get most benefits and result, paper based or PDA ???

I think PDA is better than paper but thicker and heavier. I'm waiting for Palm which would be no more than 5mm thick. It is possible - XIRCOM has made such thin PCMCIA card (REX) with LCD display. But unofortunately PalmOne and PocketPC manufacturers think that everybody wants to watch movies on PDA. They are wrong because small screen is small so you will never enjoy watching movies on it.
Best regards,
TesTeq

Comment

My iPaq H1940 is a hefty 13mm thick, but this is significantly thinner than the pile of paper it replaces. It's about the same size as a small ish pocket diary (115mm x 70mm) and holds all my lists as well.

Seems to be working quite well as a time manager.

Amazing how 10 minutes on the toilet going through projects and actions keeps things in trim! In more ways than one...

My apologies if this is too much information.

FBA

Comment

I think PDA is better than paper but thicker and heavier. I'm waiting for Palm which would be no more than 5mm thick. It is possible - XIRCOM has made such thin PCMCIA card (REX) with LCD display. But unofortunately PalmOne and PocketPC manufacturers think that everybody wants to watch movies on PDA. They are wrong because small screen is small so you will never enjoy watching movies on it.
Best regards,
TesTeq

A PDA may be thicker and heavier than a single sheet of paper, but my old paper-based planner is much heavier and takes up much more space than any PDA I have owned (and that includes the old HPC clamshell-types) Retrieving information is also faster for me with a PDA than flipping to pages in a planner.

Comment

I haven't been practicing GTD for much more than a couple weeks, but I still wanted to reply because I became concerned with my initial, paper-based system.

I bought about one dozen small, 3x5 paper pads. I had one on my desk at work, one in my car, and one at home. I went through a stack of 100 sheets of paper in three days at work, writing things down and putting it into my Inbox. I thought to myself, "If I want to make a habit of this, am I not going to waste an awful lot of paper?" This led me to buy a Palm.

Anyone else using a paper-based system feel the same way?

Comment

I really, really know that I am more suited to paper. The trouble is that every time I start writing lists on paper, I really, really know that I need my PDA for all the stuff I have on it, for the ease of carrying that stuff around, and for the ease of editing it. If I had never had a PDA, I might not miss it, but I was an early adopter, so...it seems like I've always had one and I don't know what I would do without it.

Andrew

Comment

Once I got past the idea that GTD wasn't about 'choose only paper or PDA' my system got a lot easier.

I use paper (8 1/2 x 11 legal pads) for capturing quickly, then toss it once the action is done (or put into my Palm Desktop/PDA). If on the road, then I just input directly into the PDA. (voice notes, virtual note pad, etc.)

I still have paper files for quick reference as well.

So, my goal is to minimize paper, not eliminate it.

Do the optimum combination of paper and PDA that keeps your system working smoothly...bottom line.

Comment

I use a mixture of both. I use a DELL AXIM Pocket PC that syncs to my Outlook Program at my office. It captures all that is going on in both my personal and business lives. I use a 6x9 notebook at work to capture what goes on from day to day. I transpose what is important to my AXIM from my notebook when I need to - but am not a slave to doing that - because if I need information I know where it is in my notebook. I use Outlook as the base for my application of GTD in my life and my notebook to keep track of daily "stuff" at work. I am Program Manager for a Government Contract, am our Corporation’s Proposal Manager, manage “macro-level” IT issues, and write Quality Plans for out contracts – that all fits well in my AXIM and 6x9 notebook. Outlook is the key for me and syncing to my AXIM. What is in Outlook is in my AXIM, which I always keep with me.

I used a Franklin Covey Planner for 20 years as an Army Officer and it worked great for me for all those years. However, I found that it required too much maintenance over time to keep up with my personal and professional lives. After retirement from the Army and starting in the business world, I switched to a combination of Franklin Planner and Palm but found maintenance again was too high to keep up between the two systems.

The system that I described above was my final transition and it is working for me. This meets my needs for GTD. I use the elements of GTD that work best for me, as Mr. Allen suggests that we do.

Comment

Once I got past the idea that GTD wasn't about 'choose only paper or PDA' my system got a lot easier.

I use paper (8 1/2 x 11 legal pads) for capturing quickly, then toss it once the action is done (or put into my Palm Desktop/PDA). If on the road, then I just input directly into the PDA. (voice notes, virtual note pad, etc.)

What the man said. Using the PDA for reference (contacts, reference lists, etc) means I spend no time rewriting things. Using paper for capture means the ongoing struggle with Graffiti doesn't get in the way of my capturing. The bits of paper get tossed in my inbox and processed in their turn. I use Life Balance, which has a desktop app as well as the Palm app, so I can do most of the data input using a full-size keyboard, which further improves my productivity.